Nominated for two well-deserved Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Costume Design, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" finds Cate Blanchett and director Shekhar Kapur returning to the world they created in 1998’s award-winning "Elizabeth."

As the film opens, the year is 1585. Devout Catholic King Phillip II (Jordi Mollà) of Spain, the most powerful empire at the time, has thrown Europe into a holy war. The only thing that stands in his way is England and its Protestant Queen.

Elizabeth’s cousin Mary Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton) is in prison at Fotheringhay Castle. She is next in line, has a son unlike The Virgin Queen, and is considered the rightful ruler of the country by Catholics. There is a fear among Elizabeth’s court that Catholics are likely to assassinate her in order to place Mary on the throne, which is why her advisor Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush) suggests she marry and have a child who will be her successor.

Elizabeth grows tiresome of hearing about the nuptials society has expects from, yet she goes through the routine of meetings suitors, who are royalty of other countries. On her way to the scheduled introductions, Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) gets her attention by laying his coat down over a puddle. Later, he arrives at the palace and interrupts the proceeding. He announces he has returned from the New World where he has named Virginia after the Virgin Queen. He presents gifts of food, tobacco and gold stolen from Spanish ships, to the infuriation of the Spanish ambassador. Elizabeth remains intrigued by him, but continues with the protocol and goes through the motions of requesting a visit from an Austrian archduke in who she has no interest.

Elizabeth spends time with Raleigh and they grow very fond of each
other. She appears to want to fall in love with but can’t or better yet
won’t allow it to happen, even after he confesses his love for her.
Elizabeth’s distance leaves the door open for Bess, her
lady-in-waiting. She too is attracted to Raleigh, but has the advantage
of being able to fully allow her feelings to flourish. Bess eventually
becomes pregnant with Raleigh’s child and he marries her. This enrages
the Queen, who has them thrown in jail.

Robert Reston, leader of a Jesuit revolutionary group, is scheming with
King Phillip to kill the Queen. Walsingham’s brother William is a
member. Mary is kept updated through a messenger who discreetly keeps
her in contact. During an attempt on her life, Elizabeth willing turns
to face the gunmen. With arms outstretched, she appears ready to give
up the bondage that royalty has placed upon her, but the attempt was
foiled in an intriguing manner that is revealed later in the film. Mary
is discovered to have a hand in the events and is charged with treason.
Elizabeth is conflicted on what to do, but follows Walsingham’s advice
and sentences Mary to death.

Backed by the Vatican, King Phillip declares war on England proclaiming
that God’s anointed queen has been murdered. He unleashes his massive
navy known as the Spanish Armada. When both fleets meet, the Armada
begins doing great damage to the English forces. The Queen goes out to
the coast with the army to prepare for battle. The roughness of the
English Sea drives the Spanish to drop anchor. The English set ships on
fire and ram them into the Spanish ships, doing massive damage and
winning the battle.

While not historically accurate and at times melodramatic, "Elizabeth:
The Golden Age" is an interesting tale although the number of liberties
taken will likely disappoint history buffs. Much like last year’s "The
Queen" starring Helen Mirren, the audience gets to learn the enormity
of the responsibility that have been unfairly bestowed upon these women
as the Queen of England. Many personal sacrifices have to be made in
the best interest of the country. The film is also timely as the
storyline of warring forces driven by their religion is still a major
component in many of the conflicts around the world today.

The High Definition video really allows the work of the wardrobe
department and set designers to shine through. The vibrant colors are
fantastic to behold. No matter if it’s the elaborate costumes, the
ornate architecture, or even when Elizabeth and Raleigh ride through
fields of gold in the countryside, there’s always something that shines
brightly.

The Dolby True HD sounded very good. The dialogue was clear. The
surround speakers were put to good use as they allowed the sound design
team to create the openness of the voluminous halls. The cannon fire
and gun blasts sounded powerful.

The Special Features offer a lot of behind-the-scenes information about
the creation of the film and are available on both the DVD and HD DVD.
Kapur delivers a commentary track that reveals what motivated his
decisions. There are eight deleted scenes, many of which are so short,
it’s hard to see why they were cut. Not that they needed to be placed
back in, but there was so little to them it only would have added less
than nine minutes.

There are also four featurettes. “The Reign Continues: Making
'Elizabeth: The Golden Age'” is 10-minute documentary where elements of
the film are discussed. Director and actors provide insight to the
motivations behind the choices made. “Inside Elizabeth’s World” shows
the creative process of production designer Guy Dyas, who didn’t work
on the first film. “Towers, Courts and Cathedrals” reveals the historic
locations that were used in the film and the work that had to be done
to make them appear how they would have in the 16th Century.
“Commanding the Winds: Creating the Armada” demonstrates all the work
that went into creating the naval sequences. A ship was built in the
studio and the crew researched and executed details that might not have
been caught, such as what types of knots would have been used. The
special effects team then got in and took the studio footage and
through their technical wizardry placed the ship in the water.

While the story certainly could have been better, “'Elizabeth: The
Golden Age' offers some very good performances and some amazing
production design that are worth seeing. If that’s not enough to
interest you and you weren’t a fan of the original, you would be better
served skipping it altogether.